the Nipple in Nippon...

The first time i saw her... - Monday, June 30 2008

...i was on the Shinkansen(bullet train) heading to Osaka from Tokyo nearly 2 years ago. i'd heard about her from just about everyone in Japan so it seemed appropriate that i should at least take a glimpse...and that was it.

it would be a few months later before i gazed out the window at her a second time...even less of a "feeling" than the first time. but still, something must've stayed with me b/c i'd be back for a closer look no more than a month later, this time while playing guitar on a beach...

So now i've finally decided to get up close and personal w/ her once and for all so i can be done with it before i leave Japan.

YES, that's right...i'm talking about HER:

Fuji-san.

The Plan:
Ascend from Fujinomiya 5th station via Fujinomiya Trail ===> Summit(South) ==(around the crater)==> Summit(North) ===> Descend to Kawaguchiko 5th station via Yoshidaguchi Trail

i have no worries about getting UP the mountain...that's not the problem. it's once i'm at the top of the Fujinomiya trail that the uncertainty begins.

from there, navigating my way across the circumference of the crater to the top of the Yoshidaguchi Trail, that's what worries me a little. it'll be pitch black probably since i hope to get to the other side of the summit during the night to catch the sunrise (can't see sunrise from the other side), and it'll probably be pretty cold. that, plus everywhere i looked online i could only find information about people going up/down the same side/trail (mostly the Yoshidaguchi), and no real/detailed maps of the actual crater, which i sorta FORGOT i'd have to travel around if i'm going to descend via the Yoshidaguchi as planned. but nyeh, i'm sure it'll be fiiine...=P

so just today, i cut out the best "map" of the crater i could find from a flyer i just happened to see in the train station...

so once i get to the top (Left circle), just stay right and go straight right? looks easy enough...

since i'm like most "bakka" dudes who like to mess around w/ gear (and b/c i really shouldn't have had that coffee after dinner, can't sleep...), here's what's going in my pack for the climb up (minus the shorts/sandals/t-shirt/light jacket i'll be wearing on the way there). it may look like a bit much since it's all laid out, but it fits quite nicely into a small/medium pack(25L?):